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In App Purchases – Clear as Mud ??
In App purchases (IAP's) have had plenty of air-time on BTN during 2016 across most of the shows and there has been pro's & con's discussed by various panellists including myself. Up until a few months ago my general approach was that I avoided all apps with in App purchases like the plague and went straight for the one-time payment apps and often going for the free 'lite' version of the app first to try it out before I dropped the £'s on the full version. Over the last few months however, I've noticed that developers are moving away from this model and instead offer the initial app for free with additional features available via an IAP. This pattern is evident across the App Store but I've particularly noticed this in kids games when I my daughter is choosing games for her iPad.
You may be reading this and thinking, "well that's the same thing isn't it, whats the problem?" Well my issue is how developers detail what the costs of IAP's actually mean, so you as a consumer can make an informed decision before downloading the app in the first place. A great example of this is in the Brain Training app by Elevate. This is a really well reviewed app and a former Apple "App of the Year" which is designed to help you improve cognitive skills such as focus, memory, maths skills etc.. The app caught my eye and as I was ready to push the "Get" button I noticed there were In App purchase so I went to see what the potential costs were..
How on earth is anyone meant to understand from this list what one Elevate PRO Plan is in comparison to the other six ? There are seven Elevate PRO Plan IAP's ranging from £2.99-£34.99 however when you read the full app description prices are quoted as:
ELEVATE PRO PRICING & TERMS
* 1 month for $11.99
* 12 months for $44.99
* Lifetime for $149.99, available as a one-time purchase
I really wish I could say this example was an exception but in my experience it's fairly common place now. I'm an absolute advocate for paying for apps whether this be a productivity app or a game, l to remember that it's how developers make their living and earn money which keeps them creating for us. If the charges need to be via IAP with a limited "try before you buy" approach or alternatively a subscription service with a monthly/annual cost then I'm fine with that but Apple really needs to ensure developers improve the information available so consumers know UP FRONT what the likely running costs will be and more importantly what you get for the money... I'd also like to see charge caps in place on games and full usage via family sharing but I won't go down that rabbit hole right now, that's a whole blog post of its own right there...
I think if the apps are good and the IAP costs are clear & appropriate then the IAP model will work for the majority of consumers but until that day I'm sure many people will approach app's with advertised but unclear IAP's with some caution..
Author
Chris Campion